“This workout DVD incorporates both kettlebell and bodyweight exercises to help you enhance your conditioning levels, improve your mobility and agility, and get you sweating.”

Fitness is Function: 4 Week Kettlebell Workout Plan is a 2 DVD set from My Mad Methods. In this set Mark de Grasse takes you thru 18 workouts intended to done over a 4 week period. While I’ve owned kettlebells for quite a while, I’ll admit I rarely use them. In my case I’ve used them for swings and that’s about it. Up until a few weeks ago I couldn’t even do a clean without banging the crap out of my wrists. So when I saw “Perfect for Novice Kettelbell Users” I decided to give it a shot. The DVD set was delivered promptly to my home and the following day I decided to take it for a spin.

As the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu continues to evolve, there are always new ways grapplers can learn to enhance their skill set. The growth of the sport—much in part to the rapid rise of Mixed Martial Arts—has thus welcomed athletes from all walks of life to give the art of grappling a try.

Long past are the days where the sport was BJJ specific. In that sense, I mean that I have had wrestlers, boxers, football players, track stars and average Joe’s all hop on the mat to learn the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Due to this influx of talent, the sport is ever changing and each sport-specific competitor offers a new challenge for many traditional grapplers.

Recently, the legendary Judoka, Jimmy Pedro, announced a product launch that will help benefit the BJJ players out there that are struggling with specific types of grapplers.

Renato Migliaccio is a BJJ Pan American Champion, European Champion, and Brazilian National Champion. His new course called "Invicible Basics" is designed to give students mastery over BJJ's fundamental positions, transitions, and submissions, and it is not available online with his FREE Video series. [ Get Renato's "Invincible Basics" and Free Video Series Here! ]

Conceptual understanding in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a science. Conceptual understanding is the idea that a certain part of a technique will hold through in multiple other areas of the sport. A great example of this is the idea of initial snugness. If you can lock on your submission attempt as snug and tight to the person as possible, the more likely you will get your finish. If you attempt an armbar you are more likely to get the tap the tighter your hips are onto their shoulder. If you attempt a rear naked choke you are more likely to get the tap if you shoot your choking arm in with no space to give. Recently I was able to interview Renato Migliaccio and we talked conceptually about the essence of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

The worst thing that can happen to any athlete is an injury. No matter how severe the injury may or may not be, it can prove to be a major setback for the athlete. Some guys tweak an ankle and are perfectly fine, others may suffer devastating ligament tears.

Injuries are prevalent, they will happen! However, it’s all about how well you treat your body and how much damage you can take. For instance, NFL icon Peyton Manning—a living legend who is still playing to this day—had a major neck surgery a few years back. With an amazing streak of games started, Manning would miss an entire season!

He soon left his team at the time, the Indianapolis Colts, and joined the Denver Broncos. The result since returning from a neck surgery? Manning has kept his name in the top quarterback discussion and has transformed Denver into arguably the best team in the NFL!

As we get older, we’re told what we can’t do, or how we just aren’t physically able to perform like we used to during our younger years. While it’s true to an extent, it’s not a death sentence so to speak. Being able to compete into an older age—40’s and beyond—calls for fantastic discipline, both physically and mentally.

As we get older, the term “life happens” becomes a part of our day-to-day activities. The sport we once loved so much, or the show we pined to watch at night slowly become nothing more than a time-filler as we proceed with our jobs, families, kids, etc.

However, there are some out there that choose to keep playing their desired sport as they grow older. Basketball and baseball are two notorious sports for having “old men” leagues, where the participants seem to do just fine when balancing their time.

Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, and recognized expert in the area of light weight Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Dan writes or Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more - find more of his techniques by checking out his academy Black Diamond MMA.

Fighting Off Of Your Back In A Self Defense Scenario

Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, and recognized expert in the area of light weight Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Dan writes or Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more - find more of his techniques by checking out his academy Black Diamond MMA.

Let’s be honest, in a situation where someone is attacking you either in the streets or a social setting, chances are extremely high that you’ll end up going to the ground at some point. There’s a chance your attack blind sides you, tackles you, trips you, etc., and now you’re stuck on your back.

As they jump into mount and begin to do their best schoolyard bully impersonation, it’s vital to know how you get out of this.

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Grappling 101: Escaping Mount

I recall my early days of Jiu Jitsu; learning to escape bottom mount was one of the first techniques ever taught to me by my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu RI instructor. This is exactly what I’ll be touching upon, but we aren’t just trying to get out of from under our opponent on a mat in a sanctioned event; this could be a life or death situation.

Knowing that they can cause some serious damage, the urgency to execute this move properly shoulder be a maximum level.

Our opponent has taken us to the ground and is looking to pound away.

The first thing we want to do is bring our knees up into their butt.

As they go to strike us, try and control the wrist. This will stifle any potential attack they can offer.

You want him to place a hand on the ground; taking your knees, buck them over your head. This will cause him to post on the ground.

As you return your hips to the ground, isolate one of his arms.

Lace your foot over the top of his, ending out the outside of his ankle.

Bridge once more, this time roll over your shoulder. The momentum will carry them with you, and you will end up in their closed guard.

Don’t Fight Fire With Fire

In this case, it’s best to stick to your grappling instincts! The reason being, if you’re in bottom mount, you do NOT want to try and go punch-for-punch with your attacker. It is not the same as the back mount, because gravity is NOT on your side. Simply because you have nowhere to go, if he hits you, the only way you absorb the impact is if your head snap backs onto the concrete. To learn more about escaping the back mount, check out an article that I just sent to my Rhode Island MMA students.

Seeing that he is also in your mount, they can posture up and really add extra force to their punches with a downward motion. So not only can they land power shots, they can land more shots in general than you can. Don’t try to be a hero, just do what you have to do in order to stay safe!

Again, this is a basic technique you learn early on in grappling. However, when you frame it in a situation such as self defense, it becomes fare more than basic; it could become the most important technique you’ve ever learned.

Tom Barlow, Braulio Estima blackbelt, decided to work with a strength and conditioning coach to prepare for the 2012 British Open. Enter Will Badenoch of Plymouth Performance Gym. Will designed a strength and conditioning program specifically for Tom that took into account that Tom had other responsibilities outside of BJJ, didn’t want to sacrifice mat time and was coming off a long layoff due to injury. Tom went on to win his division in the British Open and said, “I can honestly say that I’ve never felt in such good shape during a competition.” Will decided to use his work with Tom to create an e-book outlining a 12 week strength and conditioning program for other grapplers. The manual, The Complete Strength and Conditioning Blueprint for Grappling Sports, is a succinct treatise on how to incorporate Will’s program into your training.

Ben Askren is a 2x NCAA champion and current Bellator fighting champion (undefeated in 10+ MMA bouts). I appreciate the interview with Ben, who is now for the first time offering a DVD course on Wrestling and Control for combat sports called "The Manhandling Manifesto," which is available only for a limited time. Check it out here, and thanks again to Ben!

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In every sport, there is always a sect of fans that will nitpick until they can’t see straight. For these fans, nothing is ever good enough and the glass is always half empty. For these version of MMA fans, if you aren’t going out knocking people out left-and-right, then you have no business being inside the cage.

One fighter that feels the wrath of many MMA pundits is Ben Askren. An elite wrestler who can exert dominant top control, Askren has been on the opposite end of MMA fans distain for some time.

Fans are quick to dub Askren as “boring” or “dull” due to his style of fighting. Willing to take you to the ground and make your life miserable, Ben Askren has perfected the polarizing style of “lay and pray,” a style that relies heavily on top control and ground strikes.

Despite all of this, these people will neglect to tell you that Askren is 11-0 in his MMA career, a world champion, and a truly elite fighter.

Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, and recognized expert in the area of light weight BJJ. Dan writes or Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more – make sure and grab your FREE copy of the 7 escapes book for smaller grapplers.

There are certain positions that hold little to no weight in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world. Players can find themselves obtaining certain positions for the sake of just stalling and scoring points, and have no interest in advancing their position to do damage from here.